Monday, August 23, 2010

Sweetspot Roundup 8/23

By The Common Man and Bill

Happy Monday! Here's what you missed over the weekend:

View from the Bleachers (Cubs)
: Game 125: I'll Miss Ya, Lou
"
He gave us what we wanted and raised our expectations going forward. Unfortunately, that made his job even harder. His post-game interview broke my heart."

Austin's Astros 290 Blog: Bullpen, offense let down starting pitcher again
Not the kind of headline you'd expect to see after a 9-0 beating (Friday's at Florida), but it was just 3-0 headed into the 7th.

Dodger Thoughts
: Woo-Hoo! Vin's Coming Back!
That's pretty much what we all thought yesterday, wasn't it?

Disciples of Uecker (Brewers)
: Playing Spoiler
"The Brewers aren’t in the playoff race anymore, but that doesn’t mean that the games they’re playing now aren’t important. Just ask the Cardinals."

Mets Today: John Delcos: Questions for 2011
Another lost cause for this season; while Jack above looked at the Brewers' opportunities to mess up other team's 2010s, John looks at the biggest issues facing his own team in 2011.

Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Wilson Valdez: In Play, Outs
Great headline for MLB GameDay fans. If he were able to get a full 660 PA in 2010, Valdez would be on pace to ground into 38 double plays--positively Jim Riceian!

Ducksnorts (Padres)
: Friday Links (20 Aug 10)
Geoff with an astoundingly robust collection/summary of very interesting links, affecting the Padres and the NL West and a ton of other stuff.

Bay City Ball (Giants): Giants Get Creamed in Philly and St. Louis; Get Cody Ross
"Did you know the Giants are only 2 games out of the wild card? Ignore the fact that they’ll have to leap over the 2 teams they just played so miserably against — St. Louis and Philadelphia — to win the blasted thing. Yes, the wild card is good. It is great. Where the heck where you in 1993?"

Fungoes (Cardinals): Did Cardinals overrate defense in trading for Feliz?
My first thought was "well, of course"...but then, his 2010 numbers are terrible in all three metrics we discussed the other day. I think they might've overrated bringing in a new guy for no reason other than to bring in a new guy in trading for Feliz.

Nationals Baseball: Rating the Offseason Deals: Decision and Outcomes Part I
So far, eyeballing Harper's grades, it looks like about a 1.7 GPA. The Nats' front office's mother is due for a call from the principal.

The B-List (Indians): B-List 8/19
Steve looks at the future of thirdbase for the Indians.

Pro Ball NW (Mariners): Daren Brown: Mariners Manager?
Should the Mariners remove the “Interim” tag from Daren Brown’s job title? Conor urges caution.

Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): If this world were mine
Who doesn’t love CJ Wilson?: “About six months ago, I posited that Wilson might only be good for about 120-130 innings of No. 2 starter-caliber pitching this season. In hindsight, that was significantly underselling him.”

Fire Brand of the AL (Red Sox): Bill Hall and the Free Home Runs
“I would like to thank the Milwaukee Brewers organization for footing the tab on Bill Hall and most of his $8.5 million dollar salary. It’s nice every time Hall blasts a 400-foot shot over the Green Monster that I’m able to think, ‘Hey, that home run was almost free.’”

Royals Authority: High Leverage Wood
“Yuniesky Betancourt came to the plate four times and saw a grand total of nine pitches. Stop with the ‘Betancourt is pretty good’ talk. Please.”

The Daily Fungo (Tigers): Tigers Today
Remember the Rob Deer Era? That’s TCM’s favorite era in Tiger history. Digression: In 1993, TCM and Bill went to a game at the Metrodome where Pat Mahomes gave up 10 runs in less than three innings. The Twins lost 17-1. TCM and Bill spent all game hoping to watch Rob Deer strike out. He never did. Despite the loss, it remains one of TCM’s favorite ballpark experiences. Thank you, Rob Deer.

Nick’s Twins Blog: Delmon Young MVP? Not even close.
Nick takes issue with Ken Rosenthal’s article that praising Delmon Young as an MVP candidate. “The biggest flaw in Young's game, however, is one that Rosenthal completely overlooks: his defense. Young is a disaster in left field, which has been costly this season as several of the team's fly ball pitchers have struggled.” Nick’s right, and it's impossible to adequately describe Delmon’s OF defense, which is something like a bison on rollerskates, but somehow more awkward. Twins fans have started to refer to him as ‘elmon, since he can’t handle the D.

Sox Machine (White Sox): Putz or Bust
JJ Putz is hurting, which is a problem given he’s basically the only effective arm in the White Sox bullpen. Is there any help on the horizon?

It’s About the Money, Stupid (Yankees): ARod to the DL, Javy should go with him
Brien thinks it’s about time the Yanks gave Javy Vazquez a vacation: “At this point, he’s so ineffective it just seems silly to not put him on the DL, let him rest his arm, and give Ivan Nova a few turns through the rotation in his spot. Because running him out there every 5 days does not seem to be working.”

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